updated 04:05 pm EDT, Tue July 20, 2010

Roku to share iTunes music thanks to MP3tunes

Roku has added the ability to play iTunes music through its home multimedia box through a tie-up with MP3tunes. Users can pass both audio and playlists, and don't need to set up a home media server of any kind. Those with an MP3tunes locker can upload between 10GB and 200GB of their iTunes library and access it from the Roku box even outside of a local network.

MP3tunes already lets users stream their iTunes or other music libraries to devices such as iPhones, Android phones and now a TV or home entertainment system. Once songs are on MP3tunes, tracks can be played by artist, type, playlist or shuffled by default. Album art is displayed on the user's TV when the music is playing.

Along with the announcement, Roku and MP3tunes are offering a bundle that includes a $20 discount on a Roku HD or Roku HD-XR and a free, premium 50GB MP3tunes account.

Not Optimal

This is still not an optimal solution, as you have to upload your music to MP3tunes, which costs a significant amount of money for people with large music collections. Much more practical would be an option to stream your music directly from a computer over the local network by running some software on the computer.